1. Field of Technology
This invention relates to eddy current signal processing, and more particularly to extraction of an eddy current signal by digitally demodulating a carrier signal returned from an eddy current probe.
2. Prior Art
When an eddy current probe is in the vicinity of a flaw in a material, such as a hole or a crack, the flaw will modulate a carrier signal introduced into the material from an alternating current in a coil in the eddy current probe.
It is well known to extract the signal through analog signal processing. Generally, an oscillator generates a carrier signal and corresponding sine and cosine waves, which are then low-pass filtered. The carrier signal drives a probe coil that generates an electromagnetic field that penetrates into a nearby material. An eddy current is generated in the material, which generates its own electromagnetic field that is detected by the probe coil. When the material is without flaws, the two electromagnetic fields are largely out of phase and the fields partially cancel. However, when a flaw exists in the material, the amplitude and phase of the second field are modified and a small detectable signal results, modulated on the return carrier signal. The signal is amplified and then mixed, or multiplied, with the sine and cosine waves and again low-pass filtered. That is, the signal is mathematically factored into components of a complete set of orthogonal functions, which are represented by the sine and cosine functions. The signals out of the multipliers contain sum and difference products of the two frequencies that contain the amplitude and phase information of the flaw and of the harmonics of those frequencies. The low-pass filters reject all but the difference frequencies and any low-frequency harmonic products.
A programmable summer and a programmable amplifier then shift and scale the eddy current signals so that they optimize the input range of the analog to digital converter. A multiplexer than connects one signal component at a time to the computer through an analog to digital converter. The computer controls the frequency setting, the programmable summer, and the programmable amplifier. It also dictates the rate at which the analog to digital converter digitizes the eddy current signals.
Recent availability of digital components allows digital circuitry to perform many of the above functions digitally, yielding several advantages over analog processing. Digital processing reduces the number of components that must be installed on a circuit board, which may then be reduced in size. Fewer components may also lead to lower manufacturing costs and fewer manufacturing defects. Digital processing is also not concerned with variations caused by component tolerances or drift due to temperature and age, both of which are concerns for the analog method. It is also likely that the digital method will consume less power, especially as advances in CMOS continue to decrease the power consumption of digital circuits. These advantages of digital processing outweigh the disadvantage that digital circuitry is more complex, which is offset in that the digital circuitry still costs less than the analog multipliers.
A digital synthesizer generates an electrical digital carrier that drives probe coil to generate an electromagnetic wave propagated into a test material proximate the probe coil. A return electromagnetic wave generated by eddy currents in the material includes signatures of material defects modulated on the return carrier electromagnetic wave. The return wave is detected by one or more probe coils, amplified, converted from an analog signal to a digital signal and then digitally mixed with digital sine and cosine functions also generated by the digital synthesizer to yield sum and difference values, mathematically expressing various eddy current signals received by the probe in a complete set of orthogonal functions. A low pass filter then removes all but the difference values. A direct current reference component is subtracted from the mixed digital signal, which translates the signal to center about a zero axis for ease of display and analysis.